There is always more to the story...
A Dad's Gift
My daughter Kristen was an artist in every sense of the word. She was an artist on stage, an artist with her voice, a painter, and a writer. Creativity wasn’t something she did, it was who she was. She saw the world differently, and more importantly, she felt it differently. And when she put those feelings into words, into color, into music, it carried a depth that was far beyond her years.
Her mom and I divorced when she was three, and from that point on, summers became ours. No matter where I was, Kristen would arrive sometime in June. And because of that, for seventeen years, no matter what the calendar said, Kristen was my Father’s Day gift.
Sometimes it was a card. Sometimes it was just time together. And sometimes, it was something more lasting. In 2001, we were together on Father’s Day. She was sixteen. And while most sixteen-year-olds are still figuring things out, Kristen already carried a perspective that felt wise, grounded, and deeply aware.
She wrote me a note that day. I’ve never shared it publicly before, but I want to share it with you now, exactly as she wrote it.
Her words were so profound that one of her lines now lives on her grave marker:
“If today were meant to be perfect, there wouldn’t be a tomorrow.”
The Painting
Two years later, in 2003, Kristen brought me a painting she had created just for me. That painting is now the heart of the Don’t Forget To Breathe podcast logo.
In it, Kristen captured something bigger than any single moment. The imagery speaks to love stretched across the vastness of the universe, yet somehow still held tightly together. At the center of that heart is a figure in the lotus position, a quiet symbol of peace, presence, and spiritual awakening.
That was her wish for me.
And by choosing to use that painting as the logo for this podcast, I believe it has become her wish for you as well. What began as a deeply personal Father’s Day gift from a daughter to her dad has become something more, something shared, something living beyond just me.
Because what Kristen understood, even then, is something many of us spend a lifetime trying to learn, that we are all connected. That love doesn’t disappear. That hope still exists, even when everything feels broken. And that peace, even if it feels distant, can still find its way into your heart.